Just to start off, I am a Spider-Man fan. I like the first two movies and the TV shows, and the comic books too. Though this movie, it was very disappoiting. The new characters were wasted and not fully developed. It was great seeing Venom on the big-screen for the 2-3 minutes, but when he died was when I had enough. He didn't need to die off, neither did Harry. Heck, they could've done a Harry and Gwen love triangle, or somewhat. That would ironic, since Harry's father in the comics killed Gwen from the bridge (the same scene in the first movie, where Gwen was replaced by Mary Jane, and she doesn't die). And the villains weren't evil at all. Makes since for Harry, or Sandman not to be evil, because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the way they were going with Venom trying to be evil and what not, didn't work. I see the villains as sympathetic, the way the director explained. The only evil villain in the whole franchise, was the Green Goblin. And that kind of evilness haven't been played ever since that movie. So really I didn't see no real threat in this movie at all, just a lot of whining babies getting revenge or fighting back. This movie was basically repeating from the previous movie, with the upside down kiss scene to MJ being the damsel in distress...again. Sam Raimi, I love the first two movies, but the reason why the two movies were great is because they didn't repeat much of the same thing over and over again. Sure MJ was the damsel in distress in SM2, and I thought that was the last time. But nope, it wasn't. The most character that got developed, and I liked the most about in this entire movie, was James Franco as Harry Osborn. This movie should've been about him, instead of Spidey. Heck, this movie shouldn't even be called Spider-Man, 'cause how less they shown him in both suits. It's been mostly about Peter Parker, and his life with Mary Jane Watson, which goes downhill from there. Suddenly, it seems, that Flint Marko, AKA Sandman, was the actual killer of Peter Parker's Uncle Ben. Really is that all you can come up with, Sam Raimi? If it was me, I would've that left that story done and over with from the first movie. But nope, he had to continue it.
Overall, this movie is fun to watch. It's not the best, but certainly not the greatest. I just hope Sam doesn't screw up Spider-Man 4, or I'll just lose faith in the series after watching it. In this way, I should've lose faith in the franchise when I went to see Spider-Man 3 in the first place. But as a Spidey fan, I will stand in their trust, and hopefully they can come up with something better next time.
P.S. As much as some of you do, I hate the dance scenes too. It was ridiculous.
Media > Movies > 2007 > Spider-Man 3 > All Reviews
It was an OKAY movie. - 31 December 2008
overall: 6
My Review - 6 May 2007
overall: 6
Before I get to my review, let me get a few things off my chest. I love Spider-Man. He's my favorite superhero, and I couldn't have been happier with the first two films. When I saw a preview for this movie back in November, I was immediately overwhelmed with joy. I marked my calendar for May fourth and began counting the days. Boy, was I disappointed. As you can see by my less-than-generous score, I did not love this movie like I loved the original two. Let me explain. The movie starts out with Spidey (Tobey Maguire) as the toast of New York. The whole city adores him, and it starts going to his head. Here's where my first complaint comes in: I don't think Spider-Man or Peter Parker is supposed to be a cocky superhero. I enjoyed the version of Spider-Man struggling to be accepted in the town, as with his girlfriend, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), or so it seems. Underneath it all, however, Parker's popularity begins to make M.J. jealous, and it doesn't help that it's going to his head too. Unfortunately, Harry Osborn (James Franco) is still out to avenge his father's death as the new Green Goblin. Spidey gets into a fight with his former best friend in the opening scenes of the film, and the fight could've been great, but it was not. There were no witty remarks by Spidey, no awesome fight sequences. Regrettably, the rest of the fights follow in this path. The scenes were coordinated poorly, in my opinion, and there were no fights that really stood out. In fact, there were few fights at all. If not for its title, I wouldn't hesitate to call this film a romance flick instead of an action one. Two new bad guys also make their way into the film: Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) as the Sandman, and Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) as Venom. Both of these bad guys are intriguing characters, but neither is truly evil. The first just wants money to help his sick daughter, and the second is only a misguided rival of Peter Parker. As the story continues, Peter becomes infected with the alien substance Venom, he turns into an agressive and jealous man. He turns away those he loves. He struts his stuff in the streets and dances in a night club (these scenes made me look away, as the film had become a comedy by then). This movie could have &emdash; no, should have &emdash; been great. Instead, we get a romance movie with Spidey guest starring, which leaves a lot to be desired.
My Review - 5 May 2007
overall: 9
Although it wasn't quite as good as the second film, Spider-Man 3 continues to prove itself worthy of representing the comic. The plot strays as it follows a couple different characters in their own personal struggles. These strands came together fairly well to make a very well-done movie. As always, the special effects were amazing and the fights were coordinated nicely. What was new was the amount of plot development between the action. There was a lot of dialogue, which was necessary to make all the subplots make sense. In this film, we become reacquainted with Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), now fully embracing his role as New York City's protector. In fact, he is so at home now that he has become egotistical. This is very disturbing to his loving girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). Haunted by Peter's success and her own failure at singing (her true passion), Mary Jane is getting fed up with her boyfriend's flaunting, and is pushed even further when Peter catches the eye of the beautiful daughter of the captain of the city's police (James Cromwell), Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard). Peter does love Mary Jane, though, and will have to learn that he must put the ones he loves before himself. Also reappearing in this film is Harry Osborn (James Franco), who is even moodier this time around. Does this mark the return of the Green Goblin? Other potential baddies are Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) and Eddie Brock (Topher Grace). The former, an escaped convict trying to steal money for an operation to save his innocent daughter's life, falls into a nuclear testing facility while running from the police, and mutates into the terrifying Sandman. The latter, a competitive young photographer looking for a job with Peter Parker's boss, Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), will do anything to beat his rival... and I mean anything! The final entry on our list of baddies is a mysterious symbiote that crawls out of a small meteorite that comes crashing to earth. This seemingly harmless oozy creature will cause a lot more damage than one would expect, see for yourself what happens! For parents, this film has the most humor and frightening sequences and the least amount of action compared to the other Spidey films, so be prepared (in good and bad ways). Spider-Man 3 is definitely a must-see, and you should work it into your schedule as soon as possible!
Home | Terms of Use | Help/FAQ | About
All text and images copyright © The Biasphere, formerly Ultimate Reviews